@AndrewB said:
@tumes said:
@AndrewB: Thanks for the awesome thoughtful response!
Damn they can get a bit pricey. I really wish someone would snatch up US publishing rights on some of these games an release them on iOS or something. Definitely within the realm of technical possibility, and it'd be a way easier sell to get my wife to co-op (If you can co-op a visual novel) them with me (She loved 999, but playing a visual novel on a PC that's connected to our TV is not the most appealing prospect).
I may have to transgress my moral boundaries on obtaining Ever17... Sounds like it'd actually be worth a bucket full of cash though, maybe if I catch a windfall any time soon I can relieve the guilt of potential piracy by getting it after the fact.
Sounds like you got into the genre, can you recommend any other games that hit the same highs, or is his work the best in the field?
It's definitely frustrating. I love it to death, but all I can do is say "hey, this thing is amazing, but good luck finding it!" There's a verrrry slim possibility that the Xbox 360 version of Ever17 that was recently released in Japan might make it over here through someone like Aksys, but I feel like they'd have announced something by now if that was going to be the case. Even with the cult following, it's tough to sell non-Asian countries on visual novels, and at least 999 had the puzzle element to trick people into thinking they weren't playing one. Also, that 360 version toys with the story and the original writers had no involvement, so it wouldn't be the same experience.
Besides Katawa Shoujo, I haven't finished a VN that wasn't a part of the Infinity series. I've tried CrossChannel on and off because it's supposed to have an interesting sci-fi element, but 90% of it has been creepy pervy writing so it's been tough. I've tried acquiring MuvLuv on suggestion from resident VN authorities, but haven't had success.
Besides that, I've been dying to see projects by Takumi Nakazawa (director and co-scenario writer for the Infinity series) like Root Double, I/O, and Myself ; Yourself, but English translations of those seem a distant thing. There's one in progress for I/O which is actually putting 12Riven on the backburner... so I don't know how I feel about that.
Oh, there's one other option I'd suggest. There's entire playthroughs of Ever17 on Youtube. Though you won't be able to make decisions yourself, you can at least experience the story.
If you're looking for VNs to play, I would recommend 07th Expansion's works Higurashi and Umineko. You probably might have heard of Higurashi from it's anime adaption, but it is originally from a sound/visual novel by Ryukishi (the writer). It has the murder mystery elements along with psychological horror elements. It has a localized version by MangaGamer which is on their website and they are also trying to get it on Steam by way of the Greenlight program.
My favorite out of the two is definitely Umineko, though, due to the fantastic soundtrack, interesting concepts, and great characters. Umineko also has some similarities with 999, VLR, and Ever17 in that you have a group of people trapped in an area with no contact to the outside world. There isn't an "official" localization of that, but you can buy the original Japanese game digitally then use WitchHunt's English patch to play the game.
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